Sermon Outlines

By Frederick F. Schwindt, Evangelist

PRAYER FOR A FREE SPIRIT

1. David knew from his dad experience:
   1. That sin enslaves, takes into bondage, robs us of freedom - Ps. 32:1-6; Rom. 6:16
   2. That when that happens life becomes full of sorrow
2. He knew, also:
   1. That when he walked with God and was led by the free spirit of God - his soul was full of joy and hope
   2. He longed for the renewal of the former experience

1. When man is in sin:
   1. He is a slave - a prisoner - said Jesus, "Whosoever commiteth sin, he is the servant of sin" - John 8:34; Examples: Saul, called Paul, recalls this experience in these words, "I am carnal, sold under sin; for that which I do I allow not; for what I would, that I do not, but what I hate, that do I" - Rom. 7:14-24; And the prophet of God raises the question - "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his pots? then may he also do good that are accustomed to doing evil" - Jer. 13:23
   2. He is depressed, and has no true happiness; he is in want of true liberty and joy that makes the soul glad. Says the Lord, "Woe unto the wicked; it shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him" - Is. 3:11
   3. Hope has departed from him and sorrow abides with him - Prov. 11:7
   4. That is true, also, of the backslider - he loses the joy of salvation; darkness fills his soul because the absence of light leaves man in utter darkness and despair
2. It is from this state of being that the Psalmist seeks deliverance:
   1. He prays for the restoration of the former experience - peace, joy, goodness, and mercy
   2. He had tasted the new life and desired to be restored back to it

1. The Holy Spirit is that free Spirit:
   1. It is the free gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord - "Wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me" - Acts 1:4; John 14:26; 15:26
   2. It is the answer to complete renewal of the former joy and blessedness - Col. 2:5; Ps. 5:11; 35:27; 132:9
2. The Holy Spirit is the free Spirit:
   1. It is unmerited and unbought - Acts 8:19-23; it comes in answer to the Atonement made by Jesus on the cross of Calvary - John 16:7-13; Eph. 2:11-15; Acts 2:1-17
   2. It comes to those who ask for it, who are willing to be led by the Spirit - Luke 11:13; Acts 5:32
   3. It frees from the carnal nature and makes the believer a partaker of the divine nature - "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" - Gal. 5:16; 2 Peter 1:2-8. Writes Paul, "For we have not received the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby e cry, Abba Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" Rom. 8:15-16
3. He is the free Spirit:
   1. Because He is the great liberator of us all
   2. Is too much say, that he who is under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, is the only true person in this sinful world
   3. Is it too much to say that when the Holy Spirit has the complete control of our faculties life is the beginning of eternal life - "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" - 2 Cor. 3:17
   4. Is it too much to say that when the Holy Spirit has the control of our lives, we are in truth born into a new life, born to the life of unspeakable joy
4. Friends in Christ Jesus - let our prayer be like that of David - let us make sure that we are led by the free Spirit of God - then we need not fear that the joy of salvation will depart from us